The Cat's Fight
by Violet 1313
Summary: Amanda Kyle is her mother's greatest secret: Catwoman kept her hidden her entire life. But when trouble strikes and her life is turned upside down, Amanda will do anything to try set the record straight. Main character OC, story is slightly AU. Rated T for violence.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Batman or any of these characters.**

**Authors note: this story is slightly AU, and while at one point in actual Batman comics I think Selena did have a daughter, Amanda is OC.**

**Chapter 1: Secrets**

She slipped through the shadows so smoothly she appeared to be one herself. Even someone watching for her would have had immense trouble trying to spot her. Her dark clothes helped conceal her from any prying eyes, but the chances of anyone watching were very low: it was two o'clock on a Saturday morning and sleeping Gotham City was still and quiet.

Yet Catwoman didn't take any unnecessary risks. She paused often to double-check that no-one was watching her, and then suddenly leapt up the side of a building, swinging and flipping expertly from hand-hold to hand-hold until she slid open a window and slipped inside an apartment, shutting the window behind her.

And despite being in her own home she didn't lower her guard.

She crept forward silently into her living room, quickly searching for anything out of place. The high-backed recliner chair was the only thing that stood out. It was facing away from her, so that anyone sitting in the chair would be completely hidden from view.

Selena slipped over to the chair and quickly spun it around.

Empty.

She turned and skulked across the room, avoiding the places where she knew the floorboards were loose. She passed into the hallway and paused at an open door leading into a bedroom.

The bed was occupied, the blankets pulled over the sleeping body. Selena relaxed and let out a sigh. A gentle, motherly smile touched her lips and she stared lovingly towards the bed.

"Aww," She purred quietly in a motherly tone, "She's already in bed." And she stepped into the room.

Suddenly someone landed on her back and pulled off her mask. "I win!" a female voice cheered in a loud, triumphant whisper. Selena threw her assailant off and the 15-year-old girl flipped and landed lightly on her feet, nimble as a cat, assuming a ready stance.

"Admit it!" She demanded cheerily, albeit very quietly, blowing her bangs out of her eyes, "I've won this one, mom!"

"All right." Selena said laughingly, relaxing from her own fighting stance and leaning against the doorway, "You win Amanda." She gave her daughter a cheeky smile and added, "This time." Then she stepped forward, throwing her arms wide for a hug.

Amanda complied but couldn't resist jibing: "I'm almost as tall as you !"

Selena laughed, "Yes. Soon you'll overtake me."

"I'm counting on it." Amanda said cheekily.

"It's because your father was so tall." Selena said, then immediately regretted it.

"Mom," Amanda said, "About dad…"

"I'm sorry, Kitten," Selena interrupted, "Not now."

"But mom!" Amanda complained, "You _never_-"

"I know," Selena interrupted, "And I'm sorry, but you're not ready for it." She paused before adding, "_I'm_ not ready for it." And that ended the discussion. She threw back the blankets on her daughter's bed, revealing a pile of pillows. "Oh, I can't believe I fell for the old pillows-under-the-blanket trick!" she exclaimed.

Amanda decided to accept the not-so-subtle subject change and beamed, "Sometimes the obvious is the most unexpected."

Selena smiled at her proudly and gave her another hug before saying abruptly, "Are you hungry? I'm ravenous!"

Amanda smiled, "Not really, but I'll make you something while you have a shower.

Selena pulled a face but obliged and set off towards the bathroom.

Less than five minutes later she was sitting at the kitchen table in her bathrobe with a towel wrapped around her head as she sipped a cup of tea and nibbled on a sardine sandwich.

Her hatred for water was well-known, especially among the supervillains and she always completed her shower in record time.

Amanda on the other hand loved water and could swim like a seal. She was her mother's equal in almost all other aspects. She'd been trained to fight for as long as she could remember and as for acrobatic ability, the medals and trophies littering her room at her real home in Blüdhaven testified to that. She was hoping to go to the Olympics someday.

But if there was one skill of her mother's that she'd missed it was Selena's ability to sweet-talk her way out of any situation. Amanda preferred action or scheming.

She supposed that was from her father's gene pool as well. She couldn't know for sure, because she didn't know who her father was.

Her mother rarely spoke of him. All Amanda had been able to glean was that he was tall, dark and handsome and had blue eyes. The rest was a mystery.

She sometimes hated him, the mystery man who never showed his face.

Most times she longed for the love of a father. Moments like those came when she looked in the mirror and met those deep blue eyes of her reflection. She had her father's eyes.

Sometimes she hated it.

Most times she embraced it. It was her link to her father, she found herself searching the faces of all the men she saw, searching for that familiar, sparkling blue she saw in the mirror all the time.

She'd had no luck.

She preferred to focus on her likeness to her mother, she had the same voluminous, long black hair and a similar slight, lithe build. She was a little tall for her age and had a cat's speed and surprising strength.

Amanda suddenly snapped back to the present when she realised her mother was addressing her. "What?" She looked up guiltily, "Huh?"

Selena smiled in a motherly way and chuckled, "Go to bed, Kitten, before you nod off in the chair. Tomorrow's a big day."

She was talking about the Gymnastic Championships. If Amanda placed she'd be heading off to the State Championship.

She was hoping to go International. She had a great chance of winning. She had natural ability and had been training from a very young age. Recently she'd been tutored by a young man who lived in the same apartment block: Dick Grayson.

She's made good friends with him, and had figured out he was secretly the vigilante Nightwing. He already knew her mother was Catwoman, and she'd know about him. All three of them were excellent at keeping secrets.

Amanda felt like her existence was a secret. She'd grown up in Blüdhaven, she went to school there, Selena rented an apartment there for her daughter while she lived and worked in Gotham, hiring and nanny to care for Amanda when she was younger, but now she lived on her own a little and did a lot of travelling between the two cities to stay with her mother as often as possible. Selena often came and lived with her over the week, but when she had work to do, or 'extra work' at night, she had to stay in Gotham City, but now she was hoping to sell the apartment and have Amanda move to Gotham.

Amanda liked that idea. She didn't mind the current arrangement, but preferred to live with her mother.

She smiled wearily, once more snapping back to the present, "All right. Night Mom." She gave her mother a hug and slunk off to her room.

"Night Kitten." Selena called softly as Amanda fell into her bed, and was instantly asleep.


End file.
